This invention relates generally to beverage containers. More specifically, the present invention relates to an attachment for a drinking bottle, for storing an edible frozen substance such as ice cream in close proximity to, but separately from, a carbonated beverage in the bottle, and for selectively mixing the frozen substance and the beverage as the beverage is being drawn from the bottle.
Recently, in an effort to increase sales and profitability, many food markets which carry carbonated beverages (particularly soft drinks), have been offering "sports bottles" for sale, and in some cases as a give away item. A typical sports bottle is a twenty-two ounce or thirty-two ounce bottle having an upper threaded neck and a cap through which a plastic straw extends. Sports bottles provide a convenient container for soft drinks, particularly for those customers who do not have the time to sit down and enjoy the beverage at the point of sale. Such sports bottles have been particularly popular at mini-markets found at gasoline stations.
Sports bottles, which tend to be fabricated of a resilient flexible plastic material, offer several advantages over prior disposable paper or plastic cups which simply had a disposable plastic lid snapped over the upper rim for "to go" orders. For example, prior disposable cups and lids generally could not withstand rough handling or sudden impacts without leaking their contents. In contrast, sports bottles provide a relatively secure container for the fluid contents under such circumstances. Further, whereas the paper cups were disposable, the sports bottle can be cleaned and reused many times.
Sport bottles have provided an excellent alternative to prior disposable cups and lids, however, such bottles do not lend themselves well for use by consumers desiring to mix a frozen substance such as ice cream, with the beverage to attain a desired taste and consistency over a reasonable length of time. In particular, although the addition of ice cream to the beverage in the sports bottle to create a float will result in a satisfactory drink for a time, the ice cream will soon dissolve completely and the resulting drink will not have the same desirable characteristics as a freshly made ice cream float. The problem becomes apparent when one realizes that those who utilize sport bottles to transport a beverage from place to place tend to drink the beverage somewhat sporadically over an extended length of time.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a novel attachment to a drinking bottle for storing an edible frozen substance such as ice cream, in close proximity to, but separately from, a beverage in the bottle. Such a novel attachment should permit the beverage and the ice cream to be selectively mixed as the beverage is drawn from the bottle, to attain a desired taste. Further, such an attachment to a drinking bottle is needed which is of relatively simple construction and economical to produce. Moreover, a novel drinking apparatus is needed which is easy to clean and can be reused as desired. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.